I always look at the vin number to see where a car was made and it bothers me when it hasn’t been made in the original country. For example I’ve driven Nissan for a while so I expect them to be made in Japan however many of them are made in Korea and USA. I was thinking of getting a BMW next and I expected it to be made in Germany however looking at the vin numbers it seems like most of them are made in Mexico and USA. I’m guessing they probably use the same parts and everything no matter where the car is made, but would you trust it and does it bother you where it was made? The main thing I am concerned about is the quality. I believe with some cars we don’t really have a choice. I believe for example all 3 series are made in Mexico and all X5s are made in USA I don’t believe any of those are made in Germany. Does that make a difference to you or do you not care?
Yup BMW tried importing and selling BMWs from South Africa and quickly changed their minds.
Volvo also make cars in China.
And sometimes a car is not even made by that Brand. The mercedes GLA is made by Nissan!! The audacity.
Doesn’t really matter to me. My X5 was built in South Carolina and my M340i was built in Germany and both are equally well built. Automakers (and any mature manufacturing based company) go through an analysis to determine the optimal location for a manufacturing plant, and that drives supply chain and cost efficiencies. As a result the added cost of only having manufacturing plants in the home country doesn’t get passed on to us as consumers and everyone’s happy.
Well… except unless you really care where your car was assembled… then maybe not so happy.
Volvo no longer imports vehicles from china for the us market
Edit: seems they are/were positioning that way, but may be changing/haven’t fully completed their migration.
This is no longer true with the current generation of the gla.
s90s are made in china still.
He said “imports”, not “made”. But first time I hear that no more cars from China here.
21 s90s on dealer lots are made in china.
That makes all the difference, thanks 
I care more about the product than the place of manufacture.
A good product can be made anywhere, and so can a bad one.
They must have changed their manufacturing direction as they were/are moving fully away from importing chinese made Volvos for tarrif reasons.
America's Volvos Will Never Be Built In China | CarBuzz.
Guess the big question is the 21 s90s are the leftovers and a dying breed or if they’ve changed their tune
Generally I don’t care, but when a car is made in two different countries, then I will try to get one built in USA or Canada. 2018 Equinox was either made in Mexico or Canada so we made sure we got a Canadian one because the workers are paid more. No logic at all behind it, but that’s what we did
Yes, I do. It’s probably really stupid for me to do so, but I wanted a German car made in Germany this time around.
I wouldn’t care where the car was made if it was something like an A class or X1/2 though.
Sometimes I do sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it’s not even the country that’s the issue but the plant making the car. at some point Acura MDX was made in two plants in the US, one was producing normal vehicles and the other nothing but problems.
Polestar is made in China. It’s under the Volvo umbrella, and is one well-made car from what I’ve read.
Fair enough. I wonder if their order only distribution model is in response to the tarrifs.
My chinese built s90 was great. Volvo’s movement (be it partial or not) seems to be financially motivated rather than qualify related anyway.
Buy the product not the assembly line its built on.
I think most folks have zero idea of how two identical units produced in two separate global factories may differ since
a) Most mfgs have a strict assembly tolerance
b) Unless you are in the loop, its not like the dealer is openly advertising “COME ON DOWN and compare these two identical units from two separate factories”
c) Not every model is produced in two separate factories (case in point there is no NADM X5 being produced both in SC and Germany)
Only for how long that process has been taking place and the results. For example, the SUVs that BMW builds in the US does not bother me since they have been making them there since the late 90s and it is for global distribution. However, the South African 3 series were not great and Mexico is still TBD (although it does not seem poor initially).
Also, I think for mass market cars, like a 3 series, GLC, etc. it does not matter as much compared to specialty models such as Porsches, Ms, and AMGs. I want those built in Germany since the factory is invested in making sure each car is perfect since it is a source of national pride and reputation.
Back when I used to participate on a Mercedes board, someone who seemed pretty credible commented that the South African plant regularly placed highest on internal quality measures.